


Aftermath

by Jeremy_the_Guy



Category: Disney - All Media Types, The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Other, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26246101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeremy_the_Guy/pseuds/Jeremy_the_Guy
Summary: The day after her dangerous rescue of her mentor, Luz thinks on what has happened, as well as what might come next.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 67





	Aftermath

To say that the mood in the house was muted would have been an understatement right now. From the moment the sun had risen there had been an overwhelming quiet throughout the entire place. Few things had been said to each other aside from the customary morning greetings, and for the time being everyone seemed content to just keep to themselves. Through the corner of her eye, Luz could see Eda making attempts to make circles in the air, only for said shapes to simply pass on with no effect. Of course, the older witch would stop as soon as she felt her apprentice's eyes on her, but then things would get somewhat better when the youth offered her a smile. But as nice a moment as that was, it was ended when the house's latest resident entered the living room. Lilith glanced to each of them, with Luz especially showing discomfort at her presence, but to the former's credit she said nothing, instead just walking over to the nearest window to look outside. After a while though, the silence became too much, and Luz knew that there were important things that needed to be said. "Will he send someone after us?"

All eyes were on the human now, save for Lilith, who kept her gaze on the outside. "The Emperor?" She paused, but knew without looking that Luz had nodded to the counter-question. "Hard to say. His reasons for coming after you and Eda were because of the portal...and that's no longer something he can have."

Luz winced, her memory of that moment still fresh in her mind. But as bad as it was that she herself had severed her only connection to her home, it also gave her other worries. "Will he come for revenge? We kinda humiliated him back there."

Placing her hand upon the windowsill, Lilith pondered for a moment. "Belos was always hard to read...but I think that, for now at least, he will keep his distance." For the first time since the conversation started, she turned, looking to Eda specifically. "You and I are no longer the powerful witches we were, Edalyn. It could be that he no longer considers us a threat worth pursuing."

Eda frowned to that. "Don't count on it, sis. Guys like that don't let slights go unanswered. He might not come in force, but he'll at least be keeping an eye on us." She too let her eyes drift to the window. "I wouldn't be surprised if he has someone spying on us right now."

"Ha!" Everyone turned to see that it was King who had laughed, and the small demon confidently strode towards Luz. "I say let em come! Luz here will show em what for!"

Luz smiled, appreciating the vote of confidence, which she showed by patting her friend on the head. But her expression soon turned serious as thoughts of Belos returned to her. "I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't want another shot at that guy. And hey..." She reached into her back pocket, pulling out the small fragment of the Emperor's mask that she'd kept. "I know he's not invincible."

Lilith frowned. "Be wary of overconfidence, apprentice. One successful hit does not win a war."

Eda smirked. "Depends on the hit." When her sister looked back to her, she continued. "All these years, everyone on the Isles though Belos was this big, indestructible king. Untouchable. And then what happens? A human girl comes along and whams him right in the kisser." She snorted briefly. "Everyone saw him up there, mask cracked and all. Word will spread. Maybe his grip isn't as iron-clad as everyone thought."

Hearing that, Lilith arched an eyebrow. "You expect some revolution?" she asked, her voice dripping with scepticism.

Eda shrugged. "Wouldn't be the worst thing to happen." She turned to Luz, smiling. "Oh, what I would have given to have been there when you gave that guy that wake-up call. I can't think of anything better."

Luz blushed, scratching the side of her cheek. "Honestly, I think he was just playing with me. He thought I was no danger." Her smile faded. "If he'd have been serious...I probably wouldn't be here right now."

Eda too looked disheartened, if only a little. "Me neither, kiddo."

Looking down to King, Luz stared at him for a time, then took a deep breath. "But no matter how strong he is...he still needs to be fought." She took a few steps forward, looking to Lilith and then to Eda. "We might not be his target right now, but he's still there, doing who knows what. Other witches will be going through hard times because of him. I saw the other statues, the other petrified witches." She paused here, seeing the discomfort on her mentor's face, no doubt as a result of thinking of what she nearly had happen to her. "He's not going to stop..." Her hand tightened into a fist. "Not unless someone stops him."

Lilith studied her for a long time, then folded her arms as she let out a sigh. "Fine words, child. But let's not forget that you speak of the most powerful being on the Isles. Someone we only just managed to get away from. Even if Eda and I were at our best, which we are most definitely not right now, we would stand little hope of victory against him. How exactly do you plan to bring about this glorious triumph you propose, when we now stand at our weakest?"

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Lilith was right, though Luz maintained her frown as she looked to her. "...However we can."

A silence fell between the two, ending when Lilith at last cracked a smile, then turned to her long-estranged sibling. "I can see why you took her in."

Eda chuckled. "Yep, she's a fire-starter alright."

Luz very much wanted to speak further, but it was here when the door of the house creaked open, causing all to jump slightly. Thankfully, it wasn't some intruder coming to face them, but simply the smiling face of Hooty, who spoke up in that ever-cheerful way of his. "Hoot-hoot! Special delivery! Did anybody order a couple of best friends?"

Though confused, Luz soon understood the words as she saw two figures walk through the front door. Two youths who grinned from ear to ear as soon as they saw her. "Luz!" Willow exclaimed.

The moment she laid eyes on them, Luz looked like she was going to burst into tears of joy, and such was her elation at seeing them that she rushed forward. So great was the impact of her embrace that the two other children were nearly knocked back from it, but thankfully they held their ground and returned the embrace, smiling all the way. It was a sweet moment, and one that even a cynic like Eda couldn't help but grin at, though she remained silent as Luz finally spoke to her friends. "I heard what you did, getting people on our side back there. I...I can't thank you enough."

Willow looked to her fondly. "After everything you've done for us, it was the least we could do."

Gus' smile grew. "Yeah! And hey, if nothing else, my Dad said it was the most eventful broadcast he's ever done. So there's that."

Luz looked to her younger friend with apprehension. "You weren't in too much trouble for that, were you?"

Gus waved her off. "What? Me? Nah. Dad just asked me to check in with him first before I suddenly decide to use his broadcasts to voice anti-Emperor sentiment to the public next time."

Luz had to fight the urge to laugh after a remark like that, but thankfully Willow was there to bring the conversation back to the more serious matter at hand. "Is it true? What they're saying? You actually fought...him?"

Her human friend's smile vanished, replaced instead with a more sombre look. "Yeah, it's true. And I won't lie to you guys...it was kind of a losing fight on my end."

As one would expect after hearing that, Willow and Gus looked to her with astonishment, but also an understandable degree of awe. "You...actually fought...Belos?!" Gus shouted out. In an instant, he whipped out his paper pad and pencil, going into full school journalism mode. "What was the fight like? What spells did you use? Did Belos favor abominations or something else?"

Luz smiled, grateful at her friend for doing at least this to bring the mood up, but when she spoke it was with somewhat less enthusiasm than him. "I'll tell you all about it. But right now I'm just grateful to see you're both okay. Last time I saw you...well....things weren't all that good."

Willow shivered, holding herself as she too thought back to their last encounter with one another. "Don't remind me. When we saw you being taken by that awful Lilith, we worried we'd never see...you...again."

Her voice had become slower and more fearful, and Luz knew already that the moment she'd been dreading had arrived. Her two friends had finally spotted that Lilith was here among them, and the older witch herself now stepped forward. Ever the professional, she had her hands clasped behind her back, giving the two newcomers a small nod of acknowledgement. "Students."

They were both still stunned at her presence, but Willow shook herself out of it, looking to Luz with expected confusion. "Wha...what is she doing here?!"

Luz looked away, thinking hard on how best to answer. "Well, it's kind of a long story...but the short of it is that she's turned against the Emperor and is on our side now...kind of."

Gus blinked a couple of times to that, then again slowly looked to Lilith, then to Eda. "So...is everything...good?" he asked, his voice betraying his uncertainty at the whole thing.

Hearing the question, Eda and Lilith glanced to one another, with the former smiling in that mischievous way she loved so much. "Oh sure, it's no problem. I mean she only cursed me, worked alongside an oppressive dictator and headed the years-long campaign to try and capture me, but hey, it's all good, right sis?"

Lilith at least had the decency to blush somewhat after that, giving Luz the opportunity to look back to her friends. "I think...we're working on it."

"Hoot-hoot! We've got an abomination incoming!" Hooty declared.

All eyes were to the door now. "The Emperor's Coven?!" Luz asked.

Hooty smiled. "Nope! Just that abomination girl."

Luz narrowed her eyes as her mind began to think. "Abomination gir..." Then her eyes widened. "Amity!"

Sure enough, her guess was right on the money, as her other Hexside classmate suddenly arrived onto the scene, carried by her trusty and faithful abomination, who gently let her down so she could get her crutch onto the floor. Once she was sure she was going to be okay on the ground, the fellow Azura fan looked to her otherworldly friend with as much worry as Willow and Gus had been showing. "Luz! Are you okay?!"

Luz rushed to her side, helping to keep her steady. "I was about to ask you that question. Have you recovered yet?"

Amity giggled nervously. "Well, no, not yet. But when I heard you were back here I knew I had to come and see." In that moment, she noticed too that Willow and Gus were here. "Oh. Hey."

The others nodded back to her. "Hey," Willow responded with a smile.

When Amity's attention returned to Luz, she opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut-off when the human girl began to preemptively answer her. "Yes, I went to the castle, yes, I broke Eda out, and yes...I fought Belos. Everyone else has already asked."

Amity immediately turned a shade paler after hearing all that, and when she hobbled forward slightly, her voice was one of pure disbelief. "Do...do you realise what you've done?! You've gone against the leader of the whole Boiling Isles! You'll be declared a criminal! An enemy of the state! He'll be coming for you!"

Luz could hear the worry in her voice, and looked to her softly. "I know...and thank you for worrying about me. But..." She looked over her shoulder, to Eda, and after the master and apprentice shared a glance with one another, Luz turned back to face Amity. "But I just couldn't let him have her."

Amity calmed down now, and also afforded herself a quick blush when she realised that Luz's hand was still on her shoulder. Backing away slightly, she cleared her throat. "Well...I'm just glad you're okay." Her concerned look returned shortly afterwards. "I'm...not sure if you'll be allowed to go back to Hexside after this. Everyone probably knows you're Eda's apprentice now. They might not want you at the school with the other students."

It was a point Luz admittedly hadn't considered, and Willow and Gus too seemed taken aback by the thought, looking to each other with sadness at the prospect of no longer going to school with her. But after a while, Luz looked to all three of her fellow students with the same determination she'd had when going to Belos' castle. "If that's the price...then I'll just have to accept it." She forced a smile. "Besides, it's not as if we won't see each other, right?"

Though the other children were still clearly dwelling on the more negative aspects of this situation, let it never be said that Luz's optimism wasn't infectious when she really got around to it. Amity, Willow and Gus all smiled to her, silently conceding to her point. Alas, as pleasant as this moment was, it was soon interrupted by none other than King, who walked to Luz and looked up to her. "We're all with you, Luz. Criminal or not, we'll help you."

Luz looked to him appreciatively. "Thanks, King. If I had to be stuck anywhere, I'm glad I'm stuck with you guys."

Those words immediately piqued the interest of her friends. "Wait...stuck? What are you walking about?" Willow asked.

A deep sigh from Luz. "Belos wanted Eda and me because of the portal to the human world. And...I had to destroy it." Seeing the looks of shock her friends were giving her, she elaborated. "It was either that or let him have it. I have no idea what he wanted with it, but whatever it was it couldn't be good."

Gus stepped forward. "So...you can't go home?"

In spite of that admittedly bad turn of events, Luz kept her smile. "For now...but I'll get back somehow. I don't know how...but I will."

Amity matched her determination. "And we'll help you. All of us."

Luz smiled to her, again patting her on the shoulder. "Thank you."

Amity smiled back, but through the corner of her eyes she could see movement, and when she turned to see who it was, she looked on with amazement to see that it was her own mentor, Lilith. Like with Willow and Gus, Amity was unsure of what to say or do, and so only managed to get out a whisper. "Miss...Miss Lilith?"

Lilith shook her head. "I am no longer leader of the Emperor's Coven, Amity. There's no need to be calling me 'Miss' right now."

Confusion sank in for the abomination prodigy, and after looking around at everyone else in the house, she clasped her hand over her forehead. "I think...we might need to hear the whole story on this one, Luz."

Willow raised her hand. "I second that."

Luz chuckled, nodding slowly. "Then come on in. I'll get some tea."

Eda watched as her apprentice led her friends into the house proper, and as soon as they were off to the kitchens, she looked over to Lilith, who had once more taken to staring out of the window. "So...why did he want it? The portal?"

Lilith sighed. "I don't know. I may have been his right hand, but he kept secrets even from me. All I know is that access to the human world was important for his plans."

Eda reclined into her sofa, giving herself a quick stretch before speaking up again. "Well, guess he'll have to come up with a new plan. Can't go anywhere with a burned portal after all."

Lilith glanced to her, then again to the window, narrowing her eyes as she looked to the horizon. "...I hope."


End file.
